Demonic Vanguard
by draconichero21
Summary: Dante gets a letter from Eishun asking him to protect his daughter, Konoka. As Dante spends time in Japan he becomes wrapped up in an incident that coincides with time spent in Wales during a seemingly meaningless job from 6 years ago. Rated M for safety. DISCONTINUED
1. The Invitation

**(A/N: So this is a fun little project that Xerosonic and I created together. Well…rather Xerosonic tried to do this and gave up so I'm picking up the slack, using him to help me. This fic is basically just the question: What if Dante had been in the Negima plot? Well here's our answer enjoy)**

Disclaimer: I do not Mahou Sensei Negima or Devil May Cry

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><p><strong>3rd Person View<strong>

**6 Years Ago**

Dante, a few years before the whole event with Mundus, wandered around a town near the country side of Wales. Dante was there for a job he just recently completed in the village by delivering an important item to a strange man. He didn't think much of it, considering that the pay was obscenely high even though demons were after him every now and then. So now Dante is just merely sitting under a tree in a secluded forest nearby to take a nap.

"Mister?" A boy's voice calls out. "Hey mister!" The boy shouts again. Dante opens his eyes and looks at the young boy in front of him. He looks no older than 4 with light-auburn hair. He wore a somewhat bulky coat with black pants. "What are you doing?"

"Cute." Dante says with a slight chuckle. "Getting some shut eye for now. I have to wait a bit before I get my pay."

"What's your name?" The boy asks. Dante merely ignores him and pretends to go to sleep. "I'm Negi. How about you?" The boy tries to get Dante to speak, but to no avail. Negi pouts with a slight whine and walks away. "Onee-chan! Where are you!" Negi shouts as he runs away. Dante lifts his head slightly to see the boy run off. He grins slightly and returns to sleeping.

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><p><strong>A Week Later<strong>

Dante woke up under the same tree as always. He gets up and stretches out himself to get the sleepiness out of his system. "Guess it's time to turn in and get my pay." Dante picked his sword from the dirt next to the tree and places it on his back as always. "I wonder how that kid is doing? He always comes to me to pick a fight, but I haven't seen him today." Dante looks around him; thinking that the kid is nearby and waiting to pounce on him again as always. Dante then face palms himself once he remembers a certain detail. "Right, he almost got himself killed just so his dad might come to 'save him'." Dante drops his hand to the side and sighs. "Poor kid. I didn't care much for my pops, but he's just a little boy." Dante sighs once more. "Well, I'm just going to grab my paycheck and continue to pay off the incredibly enormous debt I have with Lady." Once then he makes his way into town casually. He isn't in any rush to go there since his flight home would be the next day from now.

However he would not be prepared to what he is about to see next. When the town got into his full view, he saw the entire area covered in a sea of flames. "What the hell is going on?" Dante asks said to no one in particular. He soon found out when he felt a strange presence behind him. Dante drew his sword, spun 180 degrees, and slashed horizontally. A demon stood where Dante had swung his sword and the creature had been cleaved in half. As the demon dissolved away, he sees a slew of other demons coming at him from the front. "What? Was there a party and no one bothered to wake me up?" Dante grins and readies his blade again. "Oh well, I guess I will just play with what's left."

Dante dashes forward and hacks three more down with a few slashes. Four came from the side, but Dante's eye caught onto them and he quickly sheathed his sword to pull out his handguns. He fires several rounds into them; causing each one to dissolve from each bullet wound they were inflicted with. Several more came from behind and try to attack as swiftly as possible. However, Dante backflips over the enemies, lands behind them, and unloads a slew of more bullets at them.

After that there is a moment of reprieve as no new enemies came to fight. "Huh? Over already?" Dante pouts and puts away his handguns. "Well that sucks." Dante looks around him to see anything of interest in this wildfire. "Might as well go into town and see what's up." With that said, Dante ran into the burning town. He felt odd with the fact that there are so many statues of people around him.

"Hmm?" Dante stops a moment as one statue in particular catches his eye. He walks closer to it and examines it. "Wait…I know this man." Dante stares at the statue a few more moments until something clicked in his head. "Oh yeah. This guy is that restaurant owner that I went to earlier in the week." Once he said those words, another fact clicks in his head. "Wait. That means all these statues are-"

"People. People who we have petrified." A voice calls out from above Dante. Dante leaps back as another demon comes down from above and lands in front of Dante. "Who would have thought that the 'Son of Sparda' would make his appearance here of all times?" The demon's appearance looks like a muscular gargoyle of some sort with two spiral horns coming out the sides of its head, but he felt so much higher class compared to the other ones that Dante faced. The demon turns to face Dante face to face. "To be summoned here and meet you is a golden opportunity! I will take your soul!" The demon shouts and lunges forward.

Dante jumps up while pulling out his handguns again. He spins in midair and fires several bullets downward to the demon about to pass below him. The demon stops before running into the pain of bullets to leap back and jump up to pursue Dante. Dante puts his guns away and unsheathes his sword as my thrusts downward at the demon with a piercing motion. The demon dodges to the side and fired a beam at Dante from its mouth. Dante lands, rolls to the side for a dodge, and leaps forward following with a horizontal slash. The demon backs up as the attack slashes across its face, leaving a scarring wound on its face. The demon then fled the scene, leaving Dante behind to deal with more demons that are arriving around him.

"Son of Sparda." All the demons chanted in unison.

Dante sighs and begins juggling his sword around in his hands. "You know, why do I have to be so popular with you guys? A nice girl every now and then would be nice…" Dante grips his sword and stands in a primed stance; ready to dish out all the pain the demons would feel as they foolishly charge him.

It wasn't long after when Dante began walking away victorious with a pile of ash behind him which used to be the demons that challenged him. "Does this mean I am not getting paid?" Dante says as he looks around him. Everyone is either dead or turned to stone. His contact is now a cold statue; not exactly someone he can talk to now about money. "Well…this sucks." Dante sighs, sheaths his sword, and pouts, but even that is interrupted as he hears a large boom from far away. Dante turns 180 and sees a large amount of energy being shot everywhere in a huge crowd of demons. "At least the party is still going." Dante grins again and runs off to that direction. When he arrives, he sees a man holding a single demon by the throat. Dante couldn't see the man's face clearly, but he can tell that he is powerful. He looks around to see that all the demons that were around are dealt with. "Hmph, so in the end I was hardly needed." Dante turns around and begins to walk away.

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><p><strong>Present Day<strong>

Inside Dante's store _Devil May Cry_ the phone on Dante's desk began to ring; waking Dante up from his slumber. His legs were on the desk as always when he sleeps with a magazine on his face to avoid attention from others. Trish is currently out shopping as always with Lady. Both of them usually were the ones who pick up the phone if Dante didn't answer it. However since Dante is awake now, he removed the magazine from his face, fixed his body posture into a sitting one, and slammed his hand on the desk; causing the phone to jump up off the hook.

Dante caught it in his hand, held it to his ear, and spoke. "Devil May Cry. What can I do for ya?" There is a pause on the line; no one responded. "Hello?" Dante said again with curiosity and slight irritation. There is another pause of which no one said anything on the other line. Giving up, Dante through the phone back on the hook casually and leaned back on his chair with his feet on the desk.

In the next moment there was a loud CRACK as a white envelop came sailing in through the center of Dante's office door like a projectile until it reached his desk and then gently floated down on top of it. The letter was addressed to him. The return address was marked for Kyoto.

Dante sighed, "Well, there goes more damage to my door. At least it's still intact." A second after the statement had been said; the door slowly tilted forward and dropped to the floor with a loud thud. "Figures as much." He opened the envelope and unfolded a white piece of paper on the inside of it. There was an addressee of "Dear Dante" at the top, but the rest of the letter was blank. "Um...ok?" Dante raises an eyebrow in concern. "Did the sender forget to write his message or did he use invisible ink?" As if responding to his question a magic circle inscribed itself onto the paper and a small hologram of a man with glasses and black hair, wearing a business suit, appeared on the circle. "Well that's new." Dante places the paper on the table. "I dealt with magic, demons, and otherworldy things that I can;t describe off the top of my head." He leans back on his chair casually and looks at the hologram. "Never had a magical hologram like this before. Should be interesting."

"If this hologram is coming through it means that you, Dante of the Devil May Cry agency, have gotten ahold of this letter. I couldn't be sure that it would not be intercepted so I sent it to respond to your voice if the letter was opened. This message will only be given once so listen closely. My name is Eishun Konoe, I am noble living in Kyoto, Japan. I need your help. My daughter, Konoka Konoe, is on her way to visit me from school with her class. Her teacher is a mage and is on his way here to deliver a letter to the Kansai Magic Association here in Japan. I fear that my daughter may come under attack during the trip and so I need an escort to prevent her teacher from worrying. I don't doubt his capabilities, but he can become quite flustered under pressure." There was a brief pause. "Inside the envelope I provided a picture of my daughter so you know what she looks like and also there is a round trip ticket to Kyoto by airplane. I've asked my father-in-law, the dean of the school, to have my daughter's teacher meet you at the airport. His name is Negi Springfield."

_Negi?_ The name sounded familiar to Dante, but he couldn't remember how.

"When you arrive here at my home with Konoka in tow, I will pay you in full a total of five hundred thousand in cash. Also please do not tell her what you are doing. Only Negi is allowed to know your true role amongst his class. To everyone else, unless they are supernaturally adept, you are merely a mediator hired by me." Eishun's message continued. "I wish I could talk more, but I'm nearing the time limit of the recording. Speaking of which, you'd better dispose of this letter and run," Eishun's image faded.

"I wonder what he meant by that," Dante scratched his head only for a countdown timer, starting at 25, to appear. Dante sighed, "You have got to be kidding me..." He quickly crumbled up the letter ran outside threw it high in the air and shot it. The explosion was no bigger than a full sized dumpster. Sparks rained down harmlessly onto the ground. "Hmmm, fireworks in the middle of the afternoon," Dante looked up at the view and then shook his head slightly, "It just doesn't have the same appeal."

He went back inside and looked into the rest of the envelope. Inside was a picture of a girl with long black hair, smiling brightly, with hazelnut eyes and wearing a red and white school uniform. "Babysitting girls again huh? I wonder how Patty is doing," he said reminiscing about the time he spent with the prepubescent blonde. He saw the ticket in the envelope, looked at it and frowned. "Ah c'mon the guy can afford to pay me five hundred grand, but he can't get me first class?"

Dante sighed, sat down in his chair, leaned back and looks up to his ceiling; watching the fans spin overhead. Before he had that sudden awakening, he had a dream of the past a few years ago at that village. He remembered a boy at that time, around the age of four. Although he did not know his name, he felt that odd that his dream of the past had him up in the air.

"I suppose I should get my stuff together for the trip." Dante says to himself. "I should probably inform Lady and Trish too." Dante scratches the back of his head and yawns while placing the magazine back on his face. "After my nap. Maybe some pizza too." Dante spoke with a muffled voice and went back to sleep.

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><p><strong>Mahora Academy<strong>

In the teacher's lounge, during lunch, Negi was busy working out lesson plans when Shizuna put a note down on the table in front of him. "What's this?" Negi asked.

"The principal said he wants to see you about a new development regarding the Kyoto field trip," Shizuna told him.

"A new development?" Negi questioned aloud. He left the lounge and wandered into Konoemon's office.

"Ah Negi, right on schedule," the dean stated.

"Just what is this all about?" Negi wanted to know.

"I received important news from Eishun just this morning. He called to tell me that he's hired a mediator to assist you and your class with the trip. He said it was, insurance, in case of danger. He said so that you can focus on your task of delivering that letter I gave you the person he has hired is to be a bodyguard for Konoka. He'll be there to help you in the case of an emergency," the dean told Negi.

"That's fine, but what's his name, what's he look like?" Negi asked.

"Eishun heard of him from his reputation alone, so I can't say much in terms of his appearance, but you're supposed to meet him at the airport with your class. His cover is that he's an old friend of my son-in-law's from overseas so don't blow his cover. His name is Dante. He's a renowned demon hunter from outside Japan," the old man responded.

"Demon Hunter?" Hundreds of thoughts ran through Negi's head, most of which were as far from the truth of the silver haired half-breed as possible.

Konoemon eased Negi's obvious apprehension. "Calm yourself boy. Dante is perfectly human. He won't draw attention towards you."

"All right, I'll be sure to work cooperatively with Dante-san," Negi responded.

"Very good then," Konoemon stated, "You are dismissed."

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><p><strong>One Week Later<strong>

**Kyoto Airport**

Dante had gotten off his flight and was sitting in the airport lobby with some pizza and his luggage. _So where's this Negi Springfield I'm supposed to meet?_ He wondered. He finished his pizza, licked the extra grease off his fingers, threw the box in the trash and began heading to look for his contact group. As he wandered out he saw a large group of girls gathered around holding up a huge sign with his name on it. "Nice welcome," he said at the sight of the large sign. He then looked at the students. _If only they were a little older. _Dante thought to himself. He waltzed towards the group. _Negi's one lucky teacher._ "Waiting long?" he asked. Dante got a couple of confused heads thrown at him. He facepalmed, "Right, you're Japanese. Let's see…I hope my language skills are up to date…Uhhhh…Por que pas…" He facepalmed again, "No wait that's Spanish."

"Move, move, move," he heard someone from the back of the group, push through the students speaking perfect English. She had blonde hair and large busoms. "Ah I'm terribly sorry," she apologized "You must be Dante. I must apologize for the awkward situation. Our class can speak English, but of course Japanese is our first language. I'm half-British so I've learned both languages growing up. It's just that," she put a finger on her cheek, "You're not quite what we expected."

"I could say the same about all of you," Dante said. "I wasn't expecting a class of all girls. You're teacher's quite the lucky one."

"Yes," the blonde started going into a whole dramatic interlude, "Negi-sensei is truly blessed to have us as his students and for me as his class representative. His dear, devoted, Ayaka Yukihiro,"

_She's a little young for me, but I could get used to her. _Dante thought to himself, recognizing his own traits in the class president.

"Ah you can speak Japanese right?" Ayaka asked. "Not that it will be a problem, but some of our less…gifted students may not be able to keep up with you."

"Not a problem," Dante said and cleared his throat before speaking in perfect Japanese: "Nice to meet you everyone. My name is Dante, I'll be your teacher's assistant guide during your trip here and I'm here to make sure that you all have a superb and safe trip here in Kyoto. Speaking of the professor where is Negi?"

"Ah, Sensei went to go get some travel maps with some of our classmates. They should be back shortly," a timid blue haired girl stepped forward.

"Well, all right then," Dante made himself comfortable on the nearby bench. "Let me know when they get here. In the meantime I'm going to do R-rated things to the women in my dreams." As he lay down, he didn't notice the menacing glare being launched in his direction from a certain, black haired kendo student.

"R-rated?" Makie was confused.

"It's a type of slang for Ecchi," Haruna responded. Nodoka and Yue turned bright red.

_Is it really ok to have someone like this as a mediator, _Chisame wondered to herself.

Minutes later Negi came back with Asuna and Konoka in tow; all three were carrying travel maps and tour brochures, and bags of assorted candies. As the trio began handing things out Negi asked, "Ah did our guest arrive yet?" Zazie pointed to the silver haired, red coated adult sprawled out on the bench. Both Asuna and Negi turned towards Dante and almost dropped everything they were carrying. Both did it for entirely different reasons.

Negi, upon seeing the red coat, the silver hair, and the giant guitar case had a wave of nostalgia wash over him. _Could he be…but how…is it?_ The young mage was reminiscent of the man he had met six years ago in his hometown.

Asuna, on the other hand, was petrified by Dante's good looks. The young heterochromac could only stare at the half-demon with a large blush on her face. _He's so…so hot. _Due to her attraction towards older men the red head was captivated by the demon hunter's appearance.

Dante, having not actually nodded off to sleep, opened one eye and saw the hustle and bustle going on. "Hey if there's a party going on, invite me to. I hate being late."

Asuna's face turned even warmer. _Even his voice is dreamy._

"Ah you must be Dante," Konoka, whom Dante recognized from her picture, bowed and said, "I'm Konoka Konoe. Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too," Dante said aloud while thinking: _so she's the one I have to guard, wonderful. _"So hey," Dante scanned the area for a person he could pass off as a teacher, "Is your teacher here?"

"Ah excuse me," Dante heard a young voice cry out as a small boy fell forward and flat on his face. He stood up.

As he adjusted his glasses Dante took notice of the boy's appearance. _He looks…familiar, but I can't place my finger on as to why._

"I'm Negi Springfield, Mahora 3-A's teacher," Negi extended his hand up to Dante, "It's a pleasure to meet you."

Dante was confused. This kid had to be no older than ten years old and here he was declaring himself to be the teacher of these women, who were all clearly older than him. "So tell me how does a little kid like you become a teacher at this day and age?"

"It's…complicated," Negi said rubbing the back of his head.

"Well, whatever. It's just that I was expecting someone taller," Dante said and looped a thumb and forefinger around Negi's skinny arm, "with a little more meat on their bones."

"Ah, well," Negi rubbed the back of his head, "Sorry to not meet expectations."

"Eh, it doesn't matter. I've come across stranger things in my time. You guys eaten yet…besides the sweets I see going around?" Dante asked.

"Um, well no, we were actually all waiting on you Dante," Negi stated.

"Well then, seeing as I just got off my flight and have had nothing except little packages of peanuts for the last few hours, who wants pizza?" Dante asked.

**Chapter 1 End**

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><p><strong>(AN: And that wraps up chapter 1. Let me answer a few questions you might have. To start this Dante is the Dante from Devil May Cry 4, except in the flashbacks, to keep a consistent timeline, he was the Dante from between DMC 3 and 1. Also, Asuna's chances of getting Dante's attention are about as likely as Ayaka's chances with Negi. In other words: Hopeless Suitor. Fear not though, there will be **_**other**_** women throwing themselves at the half-breed *cough*Evangeline*cough*. If you have any more questions feel free to ask them and I will try to answer them. Once again I'd like to thank Xerosonic for his contributions to this series. I hope you guys like it. If you do, I'll be sure to continue it once my summer break starts. See you guys later.)**


	2. The Other Bodyguard

**(A/N: Since I got some good feedback it's time to update. Summer's all that it should be this year. Yay. Also I got Marvel Vs Capcom 3 which is why I haven't been updating as much as I normally would. That's been eating a LOT of my time)**

Disclaimer: I do not own Devil May Cry or Mahou Sensei Negima

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><p><strong>3<strong>**rd**** Person pov**

After picking up Dante at the airport class everyone gathered at Kiyomizu Temple for sightseeing. While the classed enjoyed the view, Dante and Negi engaged in some small talk off to the side.

"So you're here to protect Konoka-san?" Negi asked Dante.

"Her old man hired me to keep an eye on her while you keep an eye on your task," the demon hunter replied.

An ermine crawled out of Negi's sack and onto his shoulder. The ermine looked at Negi. "Well that's a load off our backs ain't it aniki?" Dante, in his confusion picked up Chamo and examined him. Intrigued. "H-hey!" the ermine shouted, "Put me down will ya? I don't exactly like dangling in hands I'm unfamiliar with if they're not a woman's."

"You and me both, but why are you talking?" Dante asked, still holding the ermine.

"I'm an ermine with magic powers so naturally I'm capable of human speech. So can you put me back on aniki's shoulder?" Chamo explained and requested.

"Well, i guess this wouldn't be the first time I've dealt with talking animals before." Dante said and put Chamo back on Negi's shoulder. _For a bodyguard mission, i seem to be getting wrapped into more and more magical entities lately._

Suddenly Fuuka and Fumika, the twins, jumped out from out of nowhere and grabbed Negi, "Negi-kun let's go to the Otowa waterfall!" Makie, Ayaka, and most of the other students with obvious interest in Negi as more than just a teacher practically carried their instructor to the area there were so many arms grabbing him.

Dante chuckled to himself and then thought aloud, "Well, he seems to have all the luck most guys want. I just hope he grows up a little."

Before reaching the waterfall the students stopped by at the love stone. Well the fabled stone was actually two stones and the legend, as spoken by everyone's walking encyclopedia Yue, is that if one walked from one stone to the other without opening their eyes they would find success. Ayaka, Makie, and Nodoka took off to try.

"So tell me Mr. Mediator," Haruna said, with a deviant smirk, "Got anyone you particularly like that you'd like to guarantee your life's love with?"

"I rather not answer." Dante replies with a smug look on his face. "The whole world loves me enough as it is, and beyond."

Hearing Dante state that he wouldn't answer, or go for it, Asuna decided to go for it. She'd known Dante, less than an hour, but whether him or Takahata she was going to go for it.

She wound up tripping into a pit along with Makie and Ayaka, simultaneously.

"Huh?" Dante walks over to teh pit that appeared before him that swallowed the three students. He looks down to see the three girls struggling to get out. Asuna was in the middle sprawled out on her stomach. Makie was pushed against the wall and Iincho was lying on her back. Asuna's foot was pushed halfway up Makie's skirt. The heel of Makie's shoe was pressed into Ayaka's wrist and Ayaka's large bust was poking Asuna in the eye. "What? Am I not invited or something?"

The girls either failed to hear or were too concerned with their situation to respond. "Ugh! Iincho stop squirming your pushing your bust into my eye!" Asuna shouted.

"Asuna could you get your foot out from underneath my skirt!" Makie requested.

"Makie! Stop fidgeting your crushing my wrist!" Iincho cried out.

"Sounds dirty." Dante snickers as he begins to walk away. "Well i will be on my way since you girls seem to be having a good time."

"Wait Dante! Please, either you or Negi, get us out of here!" Asuna requested.

"Dante if you're supposed to be a mediator, I believe it would be part of your job description to help us out of this pit," Iincho stated calmly.

The ground shifted beneath the girls. Asuna's foot pushed further into Makie's panties and Makie, in alarmed response, kicked her leg in the air and it came slamming down on Asuna's spine. "Ow! Makie watch it!"

"Sorry! But any farther and you may as well stick your foot up my—"

"Goal!" the cheers of Nodoka reaching the other stone drowned out the rest of Makie's sentence.

"Hey! Watch what you're saying! I don't swing that way!" Asuna turned red faced as she denounced Makie's…arousing discomfort.

"Whoo boy." Dante sighs as he walks back to attend to the girls' needs. "What a job i got." Negi, having noticed the situation, also came over to help. Negi grabbed Asuna's hand and Dante grabbed Ayaka's. After a few tugs and grunts all three girls came flying out of the pit. Negi and Asuna rolled along the ground with Negi landing on top of Asuna his hands firm on her funbags. Asuna, predictably, gave Negi hell. Dante, on the other hand, as Ayaka came flying out of the pit, put his arms up to catch her around the waist as she went soaring over him. Ayaka spread herself out like a star. Dante then pulled his legs in, put Ayaka down to allow herself to a standing postion, before standing up on his own. Makie then crawled out of the pit by herself. Dante took a look around for Negi and Asuna only to see the poor kid getting a noogie from the enraged redhead. Dante took a look at the two and just looked on with a sweat drop.

Ayaka clapped her hands professionally, "All right you two, break it up. Need I remind you both we have a guest here, who doesn't need to behold your childish antics that need to stay in the dorms?"

Dante put up a hand, "Don't mind me I'm just here to look good." The Demon Hunter was again unaware of the glances being sent his way. This time another pair of eyes joined in the staring, along with Setsuna's, Mana's.

At the fountain the students that had the obvious interest in Negi went straight for the marriage fountain and began chugging it like a train down the tracks. As he stood there watching the students gorge themselves Dante noticed the air smelled kind of funny. "Odd, why do I smell alcohol all of a sudden?"

"What?" Negi was confused. He and Dante exchanged glances before running up the stone steps to Negi's students, half of which were dead drunk. Dante jumped on top of the fountain and saw the keg connected to the fountain the students had been drinking from. The keg was clearly marked 'sake'.

The demon hunter sighed, "This is going to go on for the whole trip isn't it?"

Dante heard Negi talking in a panic to two of the teachers and jumped down to see what the deal was. Negi, Asuna and Konoka thwarted the inquiring teachers telling them that the students were tired and/or suffering from Amasake. As Nitta and Seruhiko sensei walked on Dante saw Shizuna-sensei walking down the pathway headed in his, Asuna, Negi and Konoka's direction. Dante was currently the only one not trying to get the drunk students sober.

Shizuna took one look at the scene and asked, willing to take an answer from anyone. "Ara? Just what's going on here is something wrong with the students?"

"I don't know. I'm just as confused as you are," Dante said and crossed his arms, "I'm not a teacher, so i wouldn't know."

"Oh, you must be the mediator the dean said that Eishun hired. I'm Minamoto Shizuna, the school nurse," Shizuna stuck out her hand in greetings towards Dante. "A pleasure to meet you…"

"Dante." Dante introduced himself and accepted her gesture with a smile. "Hard to believe you're the school nurse. Thought you might had some other position like vice-principal or something."

Shizuna laughed, "You flatter me," she took a look at Negi and the group. "Negi-sensei is something the matter?"

"Nothing's the matter!" Negi turned around and threw his hands up in the air, completely panicked. "U-um all the students just got tired and decided to take a nap."

"Yes! We were just about to bring them back to the bus! Right Dante?" Asuna asked.

"Um...yes?" Dante was confused by this development, but decided to play along with the situation. "I was just making sure everyone was altogether."

Once the students reached the hotel, Negi asked that Dante meet him in his room in order to discuss the strange happenings that had been going on during the trip. Dante obliged. Konoka was worried about Nodoka and Haruna so she was helping Yue with them.

Before they could start a conversation though, Asuna walked in. "Ok, Negi I've told them that all the drunk students have gone back to their rooms and…and…" At the first glance of Dante, Asuna turned bright red, "Wh-what is Dante doing here?" she turned her body erratically, "Ah not that I mean I mind." She pivoted again, "But I mean. He's just a mediator. Our conversation…we can't tell him about that stuff."

"Oh yeah, leave me out on all the juicy stuff that i probably already know about." Dante gives a smug grin at the young student while stretching his arms.

"Wh-what? N-Negi what's going on?" Asuna got indignant.

"Well it's like this. Asuna-san, Dante isn't just here to mediate our class. Here's here to protect Konoka-san so I can focus on delivering a note to Eishun-san like her grandfather wants me to. And Dante, Asuna's allowed to know about this. She's the only one who knows that I'm really a mage and she's my partner in all of this too," Negi stated.

"Oh so she's your partner is she?" Dante asked with a grin.

"Ah! No! It's not like that!" Asuna got all riled up. "It's not like that at all! Negi's just a brat who can't do anything on his own. I just want to help him! It's not cause I like him or anything! I much prefer older guys like you anyway!" There was a pause. Asuna realized that she had just said that last statement out loud. Chamo was chuckling. Negi was looking at her in awe. She didn't even want to look at Dante. "Ayah!" Asuna ran for the closet and shut herself in. She began banging her head against the wall, calling herself a 'baka' with each headbang.

"Well. Nothing new on me. I already knew I attracted all types," Dante looked over to the closet Asuna had run into. "Although i didn't think the younger ones would adore me this much."

"Nah, Asuna likes Takamichi-san too," Negi told Dante.

As if that were the only thing more horrifying than a confession Asuna came out of the closet like a lightning bolt grabbed Negi and began fiercely rubbing her knuckles on his temple, completely redfaced. "Don't tell other people that so calmly! Negi you stupid brat!"

"Aah! Asuna-san, I'm sorry!" Negi whined.

"I'll keep that in mind next time," Dante said cryptically.

"What? Next time! H-hold on a minute! You…I mean…I…us…that…Don't think about what I said," Asuna whined falling to her knees on top of the table.

"As much as this little drama is hilarious, shouldn't we tell nee-san about what's going on?" Chamo stated.

"Ah right," Negi stated, "Asuna, Dante, I think the sake incident earlier was the work of the Kansai Magic Association. And I think they were responsible for the frogs on the train too Asuna."

Asuna whined, "Not another incident involving magic." She stood up and sighed. "Let me guess, you want my help right?"

"Ah well. You don't have to. I mean with Dante-san here and all he can…"

"At least this time I'm invited." Dante smirked. "I would rather just take a nap for the rest of the day, but this involves me either way."

"So can I help out or not?" Asuna asked. "I mean…there are places I can watch Konoka that neither of the two of you can."

"Very well." Dante laid down on the sofa and placed a magazine over his head. "Then you can watch over her while i take a snooze."

"A-ah! W-wait a minute Dante-san! Don't go to sleep!" Negi frantically spoke over the man's sleeping form. "We still need to discuss my suspicions! I think the Kansai Magic Association's contact is an inside job!"

Dante lifted the magazine a bit to see Negi. "Come again?"

"Aniki, show him the roster!" Chamo declared.

"Right," Negi went into his bag for his roster sheet. He put it flat on the table. He pointed to Setsuna's picture.

Before Negi could say anything Asuna was amazed, "Eh? Sakurazaki-san a spy?" Asuna was shocked.

"Friend of yours?" Dante said turning his legs over the side of the couch and leaning forward to look at the roster with the others.

"Well, come to think I've heard that she was a childhood friend of Konoka's…and now that I think about it more I've never seen them talk to each other," Asuna pondered.

"Ah! Look!" Negi pointed to a note scribbled by Takamichi about Setsuna. It read 'Kyoto Shimeiryuu'

"She is from Kyoto!" Chamo cried out. "There's no doubt about it! She's a Kansai Assassin!"

"Do you really think so?" Asuna asked and then added, "What do you think Dante-san?"

"Well it is one possibility, But then you would have to think why would she act now of all times when she could have done so in the past?" Dante inquired.

"Ah…that's a valid point," Negi realized.

"Maybe she was just supposed to observe Konoka from a distance and now that this trip is taking place, and she's closer to her employer maybe she has been given orders to act," Asuna rationalized.

"Wow, nee-san when did you get the ability to come up with rational conclusions. If you can do that, why are your grades so—"

"Shut up!" Asuna shouted and thwacked Chamo off the table with her palm, sending the ermine bouncing around the room until Dante grabbed him out of midair, without looking and carefully put him back on Negi's shoulder.

"Ugh! I'm dizzy," Chamo moaned.

"So what do we do about Setsuna?" Negi asked.

"Not sure," Asuna responded, and then took notice of the clock, "But regardless it's the staff's turn to use the baths. You and Dante-san should head down there. I'll wait here and keep an eye on Konoka."

"Sounds like a plan," Dante agreed.

Dante, Negi and Chamo went down to the bathhouse. Dante left his gear near the entrance. Negi brought a small wand with him, just in case.

"So i take it that i will have to get used to these Open air baths?" Dante said looking at the Onsen.

"You say that like it's a bad thing," Negi responded. "Or wait…do you not like taking a bath either?"

"Nah, its just my first time in this setting and...wait, what do you mean by 'either'"

"Aniki here doesn't like taking baths. Asuna or Konoka nee-san usually have to force him," Chamo answered, knowing Negi wouldn't.

_Such a kid, _Dante smiled to himself. He and Negi got in the water.

"Still, were kind of defenseless out here. If Sakurazaki-san attacked us now Aniki would be Mage Sushi before he could cast a spell," Chamo retorted.

"I believe you guys are thinking too much on this. Just take the moment to relax and worry later," Dante said and sunk into the water in ectasy.

"I suppose," Negi said slinking down so that the water was up to his chin.

As Negi and Dante soaked in the water a shock ran through Chamo's body and his whole tail twitched. "Someone's coming!"

"So maybe it's one of the male patrons here to use the baths. No big," Dante said.

"Ahhh!" Negi said in peril.

"S…It's Sakurazaki-san!" Chamo said in a loud whisper.

Negi ran for cover from behind a rock and held up his wand. "Wh-wh-wh-why is she here? The men and women have separate entrances."

Dante, from his angle could see both entrances, "So you didn't know this was a mix bath?"

"Mixed bath or not, we need to get out of here before she sees us!" Chamo urged.

"I was actually waiting for something to happen. This school trip is starting to bore me," Dante said. As he and Negi wade through the water carefully with Chamo on Negi's shoulder they heard Setsuna talking to herself.

"How troublesome," she said, "If Negi-sensei is indeed a mage then I should take action…but…"

_How does she know I'm a mage?_ Negi screamed in his head.

Dante from observing the look on Negi's face could tell exactly what the young boy was thinking. Before he could do anything though, a pebble went flying through the air at an injurious velocity and broke the head of Negi's wand. A loud popping sound was made. "Who's there?" Setsuna shouted into the steam of the bath.

"Got to go," Dante whispered quickly as he disappeared without another sound.

Negi splashed around in panic. _Don't leave me here!_

"You won't get away! Zanganken!" Setsuna attacked boulder Negi was hiding behind, taking off a piece of his hair in the process. Negi swam frantically away from the swordsman and turned and pulled out a spare, much smaller, practice wand.

"Flans Exarmatio!" Negi fired off his magic spell and disarmed Setsuna of her weapon, but the teenage swordsman was just as deadly while disarmed. She rushed in quickly and aimed for a vital spot on Negi's body. Setsuna grabbed both Negi's nether regions and his neck and pinned him against the bedrock.

"Who are you?" Setsuna demanded to know, with such venom in her voice that it was dripping from her words, "If you don't answer I'll crush it and snap it off!" Negi gasped for dear life, panicking and not knowing what to do in the slightest.

_Fierce,_ Dante thought to himself as he walked out back into view in hopes to save what was left of Negi's pride. "Hey, is that any way to treat your teacher?"

"My teacher, what are you…" Setsuna turned around to see Dante. "Dante?" she looked back at her captive, a quivering and trembling Negi. "Negi…sensei?" Setsuna's grip loosened to the point where her fingers were like noodles. She backed off of the poor kid waving her arms frantically. "I-I'm s-so sorry Negi-Sensei…I uh…" the sight of her still slightly cupped hand caught Setsuna's eye. She stared at it for a moment before putting it behind her back and cupping it with her wrist. "Er…um…This…I mean…Well to aim for a vital spot is just basic theory and…I'm sorry…Negi-sensei."

"Well...arguably effective." Dante nods with his hand cupping his chin. "But-" Dante drops his arms to his side. "Why the sudden lethal attack to his pride...or rather what little he has as a kid?"

"I…er…that is…" Setsuna, rather than answering, got defensive, "Well…what about you? You're obviously not some normal mediator out of the blue! If anyone's the suspicious one around here it's you!"

"Yes-" Dante cleared his throat, "Well i do have an answer to that, but i can't tell you if you are going to chew me out like a dog's toy."

"You need not fear me," Setsuna said, turning around for her sword and grabbing it. She was careful to avoid Dante's gaze altogether, lest the situation become more awkward than it already was. As she sheathed the sword she said, "I…number fifteen, Sakurazaki Setsuna," she turned her head to face both males, "Am sensei's ally."

"Wait just what do you mean by that?" Negi asked her.

"Well you see Negi-sensei, I am Konoka Ojou-sama's—"

"KYAAAAAAAAH!" A loud, piercing scream ran out through the night.

"Uh oh," Dante said and went for his guns and pants. He took off without another word.

"Hey hold on you!" Setsuna called out. Another scream rang out. "Ojou-sama hang on, I'm coming!" Setsuna shouted and followed in pursuit of Dante and the screaming.

Upon reaching the source of the screams, Dante and Setsuna arrived to see small, tiny, chibi monkeys pulling off Konoka and Asuna's clothes. Asuna saw Dante and stopped struggling to cover her face. "Kyah! Dante-san! No! Don't look at me!" her face turned bright red.

In those scant moments the monkeys had pulled off what little remained of Konoka's clothes. "No! Se-chan! Don't look!" Konoka screamed.

"You," A menacing aura radiated from Setsuna as her voice emitted one of pure and utter, undiluted rage, "What are you doing to Konoka-ojou-sama! I will slash every last one of you apart!"

"Actually I'd prefer you stay back unless you want to become part of my dance." Dante warned Setuna as he whipped out Ebony and Ivory.

"Just what are you—" Setsuna began to say only to be interrupted by the sudden, unhesitant, and unannounced firing of Dante's handguns at the monkeys, destroying the Shikigami. Miraculously not a single bullet touched Konoka or Asuna. Setsuna, angered by this disregard for Konoka's wellbeing, attacked Dante over the head with her scabbard. "What the hell were you thinking? You could've hit Ojou-sama! Those were real bullets! How dare you!"

"Hey!" Dante whined as he rubbed the spot where Setsuna struck. "I'm a professional, so don't worry about me hitting her."

"Professional at what?" Setsuna lashed out, throwing her arms down in front of her, "I've watched you all day and all I've seen you be the professional of is making suggestive glances at women and eating pizza!"

"Tell you what, let's wrap this up and then I'll tell you," Dante said, putting Ebony and Ivory away.

"Dante-san! Setsuna-san!" Negi came running up the pathway all out of breath.

"Well, look who finally decided to show," Dante said and when Negi finally stopped and hunched over, clutching his knees added, "Sorry Negi, party's over. You missed a good time."

"Se-chan," Konoka spoke up, smiling at her friend, "I don't exactly understand what's going on, but you and Dante-san saved me right?" Konoka gave to Setsuna, what the swordsman would describe as the most beautiful smile ever granted to her. "Thank you."

"I…it was nothing. I…" Setsuna turned bright red and ran away at top speed, "Please excuse me."

"Ah Asuna-san! What happened to your clothes?" Negi asked her.

"Wh-what does that matter to you?" Asuna shouted, "Why are you looking there anyway? Get out!"

"NYAAAH!" Negi screamed like a frightened little girl.

* * *

><p><strong>Later…<strong>

While Dante sat and listened, guarding the door to Asuna, Konoka and Negi's room, reading a magazine while they discussed her and Setsuna's history Setsuna herself approached Dante. "You and I need to talk," she said with a serious expression on her face.

"Go ahead, don't let me stop you," Dante told her as he turned the page.

"Magazine. Down. Now," Setsuna said through gritted teeth.

Dante does as was asked. He leans back casually and looks at her with a carefree look. "I suppose you want answers?"

"I want the truth," Setsuna said articulately, "And depending on your statements I will gauge whether or not I can trust you."

"Alright, alright." Dante raises his hands and stands up with a slightly more serious posture. Once he drops his arms back to his sides, he continues to speak. "I was hired as a bodyguard to protect Konoka by her father, Eishun, while Negi deals with some letter of sorts." Dante looked to the right and left to make sure that no one was eavesdropping on his and Setsuna's conversation, ""However." Dante continued, "To be called halfway across the world to defend one girl from trouble is a bit much. I would think hiring a local mercenary would be better." Dante turns to face Setsuna more sternly. "The fact that me of all people got called out here must mean that i am supposed to do more than guard against magic monkeys. Is there something that i am unaware of that i should know?"

"That depends," Setsuna said, the calmness in her tone had increased, but there was still slight distrust in how she spoke, "Who exactly are you?"

"It's not a surprise that you don't know me. I'm not from around here after all." Dante puts his hands in his pockets walks over to his guitar case. He looks around again to see if anyone is watching him; which he finds no one but Setsuna. "Although, not a lot of people know my true profession." He then opens the case and pulls out his signature weapon: Rebellion. Setsuna took a couple steps back in shock to see Dante in possession of such a blade, especially in its appearance. Dante looks towards Setsuna and stabs the blade into the ground with a dignifying pose and tone. "I am…a demon hunter."

"Demon…hunter?" Setsuna pondered for a moment and then a thought struck her, "Wait you said your name is Dante, yes? Are you perchance _the _Dante? The legendary Son of Sparda?" Setsuna asked.

"I…" Dante was going to answer, but Setsuna turned around.

She sighed and stared up in the ceiling, feeling mildly stupid. "No, of course you couldn't be. Sparda was a legend of such high stance and caliber. There's no way someone as flippant and smart-mouthed as you could be related to him."

"Yeah, Well if you know that much then I'll tell you that i never cared much about my lineage."

"Say what?" The gears in Setsuna's head stopped turning momentarily before spinning again. "Wait a minute, you really are him?" she freaked out.

"Well since you already know so much about me then i guess there wouldn't be any reason in hiding it. Are you really that surprised?" Dante asked her.

Setsuna composed herself, "I…it's just…" Setsuna shook her head violently and calmed down. "No, I'm not surprised; in fact I can now fully understand why you were sent. This obviously has to do with the Kansai Magic Association. As you're probably no doubt aware already, else you would've not been so carefree with Negi-sensei, Class 3-A's teacher is a mage. However, what you may not know is that mages come in two forms. Western mages from Europe and North America, like Negi-Sensei, and Eastern mages from here in Asia, like whoever summoned those Shikigami." Setsuna explained. "Western mages employ partners. Other non-magical humans who help them out as front line fighters while they use magic from the rear. This is not the case with Eastern Mages. Eastern Magi use powerful warrior spirits called Zenki and Goki to protect themselves. However, I'm sure you know them by another name."

"Demons," Dante said plainly.

"Exactly," Setsuna answered. "However, a few Eastern Magi attempting to ransack a school trip is no true cause for alarm, as you said it would've been less expensive to call on a local mercenary. However, perhaps there is more going on here than we can fathom or that Eishun could tell you in a message that could, at any point, be intercepted. Even using security features such as playing the message a single time, or responding to its recipient's voice, doesn't guarantee the message will land securely to its intended receiver. The Kansai Magic Association must be planning something big."

"Uh, you have lost me at magic associations. I've had my experiences before with otherwordly surprises and i have heard about mages from time to time, but this is pretty new to me," Dante responded.

"Ugh," Setsuna growled and facepalmed. She took a deep breath and explained in layman's terms. "To put it simply the mages we're dealing with are demon summoners. I agree with you that a few mages of this type aren't exactly dangerous enough that it would be deemed necessary to call in someone of your caliber, so it's only safe to assume that they're up to something that only someone of your level can handle, whatever that may be."

"Yeah, now i kind of wish i questioned my employer a bit more." Dante scratches the back of his head and puts his sword away back into the guitar case. "Well, i probably would have come to deal with this mess one way or another. At least I'm getting paid better than usual." As Dante re-zips his bag up, a thought struck his mind. "Just a question. How is it that you know of me?"

Setsuna's face tensed, "I figured you'd ask. I suppose it's only right that I tell you, but you can't tell anyone. Not Negi-Sensei, not Kagurazaka Asuna, not Konoka-ojou-sama. This is between us and us alone, for I doubt they even know who you truly are." Setsuna looked around to make sure, once again, that she and Dante had no eavesdroppers. "However, if I'm going to tell you, you have to promise you won't kill me."

Dante raises a questioning eyebrow to Setsuna's request. He felt a bit worried about it at first, but he shoved the thought aside for now so he could understand what she meant. Dante nods in confirmation to Setsuna's request. "By all means."

Setsuna sighs in relief, but she then hardens again. "Very well. I am…a demon, one of the Tengu." Dante's casual smile drops for a moment to take in the thought. The reveal that this young girl in front of him is a demon was surprising at best. Dante was going to voice his thoughts, but Setsuna already continued. "I was cast out and raised alongside Konoka Ojou-sama as her bodyguard and as a Shimeryuu, a hunter of my own kind, much like you." Setsuna began to angst, "One day though, Ojou-sama-"

"You do know that this is kind of irrelevant right" Dante interrupted with a sigh as he pats the young swordsman's head suddenly. Setsuna got caught off guard by his action and froze stiff. "First off, I hunt demons, but not indiscriminately. I did let a few go because they wished to actually live with humans, so you don't have to worry about me using you as my swords new sheath." Dante chuckled at his thought while separating his hand from Setsuna. During her time of being frozen still, she becomes astonished by Dante's generosity towards her after revealing such a deep fact about herself. The fact that he held no resentment towards her at all about being a demon made her feel not just relieved, but tearful as well on the verge of crying. "Secondly, whatever happened back then holds no bearings right now. You got two legs just like. So stop whining and start moving."

"I…" Setsuna shook her head, still in denial, "No, you don't understand. I can't let Ojou-sama be close to me ever again!" she threw her hand out at her side. "You're here to protect her. I've just been cast aside like some week old slice of pizza haven't I?"

"Well that's what a microwave is for." Dante joked again. After realizing how bad it was though, he shook his head to wipe it out of thought. "Nevermind. Listen, you want to protect her too? That's fine by me. I would like the extra help so we could ease the tension. Also, no one said you were cast aside, they just thought they needed an extra hand, or that some other measure is needed to truly assure her safety." Dante promptly flicks Setsuna's forehead to get the thought into her head better. "Stop angsting, it's giving me cramps."

"I…" Setsuna shook tensely before saying proudly, "Thank you. I will give everything I have to protect Ojou-sama. I am honored to have your assistance."

"And would it hurt for you to smile a bit? You don't have to be so stuck up," Dante told the young swordsman.

"To smile you must have a reason to be happy," Setsuna said expressionlessly took a sideways glance to the door she and Dante were standing outside. "I lost that reason long ago and I will never be able to get it back."

"What did I say?" Dante sighed.

"Huh?" Setsuna turned back to look at Dante.

"No. Angsting." Dante pushes the fact a bit further by kneeling forward until his face is only a few inches from her. "Smile." Dante puts on one for himself as emphasis.

"U-um…I—"

The door suddenly opened revealing Konoka, "Oh, Se-chan you are here after all. I thought I heard your voice."

"I have to go!" Setsuna ran off.

Dante sighed, "She's a tough one."

"Aww why'd she leave? Was it something I said?" Konoka asked, either not hearing or not caring about Dante's comment.

"Perhaps." Dante teases as he strolls over to the couch and drops himself into a sleeping position and places the magazine over his head. "Why don't you go and talk to her while i go catch some sleep. Hopefully this time i can actually go to sleep."

"Mmm," Konoka pondered the thought, "I would, but it's almost curfew. Maybe tomorrow I'll ask her."

"Well suit yourself," Dante said.

"Um, Dante-san. Yours and Konoka-san's room is in the adjoining room," Negi informed him. His statement fell on deaf ears. Dante was already fast asleep.

"It's ok Negi, we'll change rooms for the evening," Asuna said, "It's no big deal." Konoka looked at Asuna like she had just had an epiphany. "What is it Konoka?"

"You like Dante-san don't you Asuna?" she asked.

"I-I do not! Th-that's ridiculous! I-I'm not speaking to you for the rest of the night!" she went into the adjoining room and slammed the door.

"Um, Asuna that's the linen closet," Negi pointed out.

Asuna stomped back out, whacked Negi over the head as if to say "I knew that", walked across to the other side of the room, opened the door there and slammed it.

**End of Chapter 2**

* * *

><p><strong>(AN: Dear god I hope the next chapter doesn't take this long. Curse the powers that be for faulty internet connections and scheduling conflicts. Well hopefully the lengthy chapters in this series will make up for that. 99% of Dante's lines are written by Xerosonic so if you're going to tell me to keep up the good work tell him that too. Thanks for reading everyone. See you next time).**


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